2011 Summer Fancy Food Show - Oser Communications Group

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MARKETWATCH www.gourmetnews.com SEPTEMBER 2011 GOURMET NEWS
Marketwatch
GREEK YOGURT
Greek yogurt: Riding the wave
By ROCELLE ARAGON
Specialty or not, all food retailers know
the data: Greek yogurt is huge. Sales
of the thick, protein-rich variant are
projected to hit $1.5 billion in 2011, nearly
doubling from 2010, according to market
research firm Euromonitor
International. Greek yogurt now
makes up nearly a quarter of
the $6.8 billion spent yearly on
yogurt in the U.S.
A milestone was reached in
March 2011, when Chobani
became the top-selling yogurt
in the U.S., according to figures
from Symphony IRI. Also according
to IRI, the brand was the
second most successful food and
beverage product launch of 2009-
2010, generating $149 million in
year one sales. The other leading
label, Athens-based brand Fage,
accounts for about 20 percent.
All this is just going to get bigger.
In August, both Yoplait Greek
and Dannon Oikos launched
big-budget marketing campaigns
that will push the whole category.
(Oikos was originally a
brand produced by Dannonacquired
Stonyfield; it is now
shared by the two brands.) Kraft
has re-entered the category with
Athenos, the umbrella brand for
its entire Mediterranean line.
Trader Joe’s has long had a store
brand of Greek yogurt; Safeway
has recently launched one and
Hy-Vee is reportedly planning to
do so as well.
What’s behind all this? Greek
yogurt is very high in protein and
low in fat, making it a popular
choice for weight loss, proteinloading
and meatless or meatlimited
diets. Its rich texture
makes it feel like a premium treat, and
its tangy flavor plays into growing
customer preference for
tart flavors rather
than sweet.
Most important for retailers, consumers
are buying Greek yogurt even at a premium
price—as much as double that of regular
yogurt. How can specialty retailers benefit
from the big brand spending, without losing
their customers to supermarkets?
Promote it in cooking, baked
goods and smoothies. Greek
yogurt is popular in dips and
savory sauces for its creamy
texture, and in baked goods
because it stays thick even when
heated. Retailers can use the
higher interest in Greek yogurt
to sample prepared foods that
use it as an ingredient, educating
consumers about both the taste
and the high protein content,
particularly for baked goods like
muffins and waffles.
Award-winning Vermont cheddar
producer Cabot Creamery has
long been making Greek yogurt,
but not promoting it. Earlier this
year, the company launched a
Greek yogurt microsite with
extensive recipes. According
to a Cabot representative, the
top-selling SKUs are the 2-lb.
sizes, which suggests steady
home consumption. “Sales have
been significantly higher than
average in the last six months,
and growing every month since
June,” the representative confirmed.
Coastal cities are leading
the way, presenting an opportunity
for specialty retailers in
other markets.
Present alternative brands,
especially local or artisan ones.
Specialty consumers crave alternatives
to everyday brands and
retailers can help them. Smaller
names include Greek Gods, Voskos
by Sun Valley Dairy and Olympus.
The latter even includes a traditional,
ten-percent fat variant in addition to its
two-percent and fat-free variants, and rolled
out four new flavors this summer.
Another dimension is Greek yogurt from
local farms, with local milk, in limited
quantities and distribution. An example
is Simply Greek, produced by Ovinshire
Farm in the Adirondacks and New York
state’s Maple Hill Creamery. Simply Greek
is made from sheep’s milk, like traditional
Greek yogurt, and uses evaporated cane
sugar and organic ingredients to create four
flavors: maple, banana, vanilla and plain. Its
fans call it “ridiculously thick” and track
it down at New York retailers like Dean &
DeLuca, Murray’s and Fairway.
Other regional brands include Zoi by
Auburn Dairy (Washington & California),
Atlanta Fresh Greek yogurt (Georgia only) and
Anderson-Erickson Dairy Greek Yogurt (Iowa,
Kansas, Illinois and Kansas City area).
Expand choices in other thick, “adult”
yogurts. Greek yogurt growth has also
benefited other kinds of European-style,
thicker yogurts with tart flavors. Siggi’s, a
premium-priced brand of thick Icelandic
yogurt, has long been a cult item at Whole
Foods and recently launched a probiotic
yogurt drink.
Maple Hill Creamery also reports strong
sales for its original product, European
Style Cream line yogurt. Made from 100
percent grass fed cow’s milk, the yogurt is
clearly not a diet choice: “We don’t make
low-fat,” says co-founder Tim Joseph,
“because that would be like stripping the
fat from salmon.”
Alternative milk yogurts are also gaining
interest. Sierra Nevada Creamery’s
Capretto goat milk yogurt recently won
1st place in the American Cheese Society
competition. “We’ve just had fantastic
response from consumers,” says Rachel
Oriana Schraeder, Capretto’s Sales Director.
“There is a general open-mindedness about
exploring new yogurts.” Packaging for the
brand’s environmentally-friendly, single-serve
containers, features a graphic that subtly
reinforces the “Greek-style” connection.
Besides benefiting from consumers’
familiarity with the tangy flavor of goat
cheese, goat and sheep milk metabolize
in a way that can be tolerated by many
consumers who cannot drink cow’s milk.
Increased interest in American sheep’s
milk cheeses may lead to a more stable
supply of milk, making this a category to
watch—just as goat’s milk is now.
Spin-off products. Greek yogurt is
already making its way into value-added
products that mixand-match
food trends.
Yasso Frozen Yogurt marries Greek yogurt
with the fad for high-end popsicles. Yogurt
dips (Otria Greek Yogurt Veggie Dips by
Marzetti, California-based Yogidips) are
coming out in chipotle and jalapeno flavors
as well as traditional Mediterranean
ones. Even the dairy-free market is served,
with at least one Greek style yogurt (So
Delicious, made by Oregon-based Turtle
Mountain). These existed before the current
trend, but should benefit from the
new interest in the category.
Ultimately, interest in Greek yogurt can
only benefit the U.S. market as a whole. An
interesting quote comes from travel writer
Peter Lindbergh, speaking on a radio show
about his article on supermarket shopping
when traveling: “The yogurt section is
always huge—it’s like the size of our soda
section.” gn
Images courtesy of manufacturers. Cabot Creamery, www.cabotcheese.coop/greek; Capretto yogurt, www.sierranevadacheese.com;
Maple Hill and Simply Greek, www.maplehillcreamery.com; So Delicious, www.turtlemountain.com; Yasso Frozen Yogurt, www.yassofrozenyogurt.com.